Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue...

[SKII]

Who would have thought it, this time last Wednesday - Ihu...Ih...I-un...E-e-e-a-a-n-n Murray would be back at Easter Road playing for the Hibees against Hearts at Tynecastle?

You could count on one finger (do you see what we did there?) the number of Hibbies who would have reckoned it was a goer - after all, at that time we didn't even have a manager! But from the very moment the Mighty Finn was appointed gaffer at Easter Road the rumour mills went into overdrive and the wildest one came true this morning.

Ih..Ihu..I..erm..well HE is back at Hibs!

It's an unusual one to say the least and yet it all makes perfect sense. The player left Easter Road under a number of clouds, to sign for the inhabitants of Mordor having run down his contract in true non-committal Bosman style. As club captain of the team he supported as a boy. The rights and wrongs of his departure from Easter Road were battered out on message boards, in pubs and workplaces across Edinburgh.

The laddie was less than fair with us...the laddie was shafted by the club when injured (wages cut to a bare minimum)...the laddie had sold his jersey, soul and heritage...the club had not paid him what he was worth...the player had absolutely burned his boats when he showed us the one finger we were counting on last week...the boy had no choice but to leave as he needed the money...

We all ruminated over it for weeks and months until he disappeared off our radars, injured again and then (once PLG appeared on the scene at Mordor) unable to get a game for the Orcs. Norwich City beckoned and he headed south - absolutely out of sight and out of mind. Ihu...Ih...
Ee-a-a-nn Who?

Anyway, he had since been eclipsed well and truly by the antics of his Hibernian Captain Successors. Caldwell and then (especially) Thomson had flicked the vickies at Hibs and us...with the latter daft enough to let the likes of Keith Jackson at the Daily Ranger unscrupulously and shamelessly tout him for business. There can be no doubt that the role the media played in the departure of Katy and the quotes attributed to him in the press made Ihu...Ih...erm, Murray look quite a reasonable guy, in retrospect.

They say time is a great healer - and it is. They say that we should allow people to learn from their mistakes - especially the young. However, they also say once bitten, twice shy. I reckon we should be looking to all three mantras to rationalise the return of the Prodigal Hun.

Ihu..erm Murray has come back to Easter Road to once again pull on the green and white of Hibernian. I do not doubt he has a huge amount to offer us. He knows the club, he knows the set up, he knows the boss. He has been captain of the club at a very young age and he has much to prove again on the park. He is an able player who can adapt to a number of positions. He is better than a large number of players on the books and certainly far superior to the Gattheusis of this world. In the light of the Murphy departure, he is a more than adequate replacement who, at 26 years old, is more experienced than the man he replaces.

The club has moved on somewhat since he left. Most of his pals have gone. The boss is the only of his old regular team mates left. Our style of play is a little different. The club have a proper training facility. And, of course, we have won a trophy. Had he still be a Hibee in 2007, it may well have been Murray and not Jones who went up those stairs to lift that cup. He must have some small regrets in the back of his mind that he did not.

Perhaps enough time has elapsed for our wounds to be less vulnerable. Perhaps this is just the right time for such a move to happen and work out. There is the Mixu feel good factor. There is the we need a decent replacement for Murphy factor. There is the "we need someone who will fight for the club in the trenches" factor...

And there's the Tynecastle Tomorrow Factor.

There probably isnt a better time for I Murray to come back.

The one question mark over the signing is the length of contract - it is only 5 months. Does this signify a reluctance on the part of the player to commit long term to the Hibees again or is it the club playing hard ball/safe? Are we to expect another Caldwell situation? Or are we just waiting to see if he can stay injury free for that period before renegotiating? The only people who can answer that question, quite simply, won't.

What we need to do therefore is be pragmatic about the whole darn things. If Murray is back in a Hibs jersey, he is not only a brave boy but a decent signing. We need decent signings in the light of the Donaldsons and Gattheusis of this world. He should therefore be afforded our support as a Hibs player, no matter how long our memories. If the lad made mistakes in pursuit of his Murray Mint, then he won't be the first or the last. We need to cut him a little slack. If he wants to play for the Hibs and he performs we will all benefit. If he wants to use us a la Caldwell, as another stepping stone, we can't say we didn't expect it. We just have to anticipate it might happen and view this relationship as a business deal to suit both parties...

HOWEVER, if he is sincere about coming back to Easter Road to re-ignite his love affair with the club and support then he is welcome. Unconditionally. Mickey Weir and Pat McGinlay managed that little phenomenon in the not so distant past - why should Murray be any different? God only knows, Mickey came back and gave us the best six months of his career, winning a trophy in the process. Who would say that return of the prodigal son was a mistake?

Thankfully for us all, tomorrow will take care of itself.

Nobody, even the biggest cynic or critic, will question Murray's commitment tomorrow. Nobody. And the Hibs support will have far too many targets in their sights as to worry about the return of a former captain, ex blue nose or not.

We may need a few days, weeks or months to stop slipping the odd Ih..Ihu...into conversation, but it will pass. It may well go back to being just like the grand old days of yore...ahem.

Welcome back Ian.

There, I said it. Ian without the h or an u.

As for the match itself, Hibs go into the game lifted by the arrival of Mixu, Rankin and Murray. Fletcher came back into contention during the week having come through 45 minutes against Dundee in a bounce match. All four individuals will bring something that was not there two weeks ago.

The Jambos have apparently added Jason Thomson and Mathew Park to their squad because Zaliukas and Elliot are both suspended for the fixture. They will want to have a go and stop their monumental form slide in the best possible way but they will still be fragile - even if they were to take the lead. The Motherwell surrender last weekend will be playing on their minds. 2-0 and they mucked it up.

Of course, we should not underestimate the impact of their own major signings this week. Oh no. Yon proposal to put them into £80 million pounds of debt must have filled their Hearts to bursting. What a lift they must have received from that planning permission submission. Just like the return of Keegan to Newcastle but higher impact. Remarkable.

Hibs are 8/5 to win the game, the Yams 11/10.

But the best bet might be to put a wager on Ian Murray to net the winner. These wee things have a habit of happening...and what better way to make everyone forget he was ever away. Ever there...

Tomorrow just might be the day for the something old, to be coming back as something new. Something borrowed, no longer blue...

[Hibsean]

Great work, SKII.
That's got me even more revved up for tomorrow.

[gragil69]

Fantastinc read....

I may have a wee wager on that outcome myself now...